Cock fight Fusion Media Network, LLC. Meet the farmer blowing the whistle on Big Chicken Craig Watts is about as farmer as they come. He chews tobacco, he’s gruff, he wears overalls, and he loves Willie Nelson. He’s not what you think of when you think of whistleblowers like Deep Throat or Edward Snowden. But…

The Government’s Bad Diet Advice By NINA TEICHOLZFEB. 20, 2015 Credit Mark Pernice FOR two generations, Americans ate fewer eggs and other animal products because policy makers told them that fat and cholesterol were bad for their health. Now both dogmas have been debunked in quick succession. First, last fall, experts on the committee that…

A hamstrung D-11 begins crucial cafeteria cuts to balance underfunded government mandates February 25, 2015 By Matthew Schniper @MatthewSchniper ‘Hey son, what did you have for lunch today at school?" Well, we can tell you one thing Timmy didn’t dine on, if he chose a hamburger, or meatloaf, or pasta with meat sauce: Ranch Foods…

U.S. ranchers counting on labels to stand out from global competition by Grant Gerlock, NET News/Harvest Public Media Gayland Regier carries buckets of feed to his cattle in southeast Nebraska. Imported cattle make up a small portion of the American beef supply, but many American farmers and ranchers are concerned that foreign-sourced meat could distort…

Rent walkouts point to strains in U.S. farm economy By Jo Winterbottom and P.J. Huffstutter February 23, 2015 5:45 AM A combine drives over stalks of soft red winter wheat during the harvest on a farm in Dixon, Illinois, in this July 16, 2013 file photo. Across the U.S. Midwest, the plunge in grain prices…

20th BSE Case Raises New Concerns about Canada’s Feeding Practices and Voluntary Testing Program; Highlights Importance of COOL Billings, Mont. – On February 13, 2015, Canada confirmed its 20th case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) in a native-born animal. Although Canada obtained confirmation of this latest case on February 11, it…

Domina calls for reversal of ag industry consolidation FEBRUARY 20, 2015 7:00 PM • BY NICHOLAS BERGIN | LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR Agriculture needs a few good heroes willing to stand up to lawmakers and be heard in courts if America wants to address the increasingly consolidated industry and mega companies whose onerous contracts threaten producers,…

Class action lawsuit claims that Purina pet food is killing dogs February 20, 2015 5:45 PM MST A class action lawsuit filed earlier this month claims that Purina Beneful is killing dogs Photo by John Moore/Getty Images A lawsuit alleging that Purina’s Beneful dog food has sickened or killed countless dogs was filed against Nestle…

U.S. government sues to block Sysco-US Foods merger By Greg Roumeliotis and Diane Bartz NEW YORK/WASHINGTON Thu Feb 19, 2015 3:34pm EST (Reuters) – The U.S. government filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block a merger of the nation’s two largest food distributors, US Foods Inc [USFOO.UL] and Sysco Corp (SYY.N), which said it…

A Factory Farmer Strikes Back at the Company He Farms For By Maryn McKenna 02.19.15 | Farmer Craig Watts. Screenshot: video by Compassion in World Farming Back in December I wrote about a chicken farmer who took the extraordinary step of inviting animal-welfare activists into his barns to document the conditions under which his contract…